Tyreke Evans has seen a decline in his numbers in each of the three seasons since his first, when he took home Rookie of the Year honors with the Sacramento Kings.

There were reasons for that, including nagging injuries and a revolving door at the head coaching post in Sacramento under the team’s previous ownership.

But the fact remains that Evans has underwhelmed since that rookie campaign, yet is hasn’t stopped another team from expressing interest in him as a restricted free agent with a fairly high-priced offer sheet, and one that Evans has agreed to sign.

Restricted free agent and former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans has given the New Orleans Pelicans a verbal agreement that he will sign their four-year, $44 million offer sheet, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the situation. The Sacramento Kings, Evans’ former team, will now have until three days after the free agency moratorium is lifted on July 10 to decide whether to match the offer.

Evans waited on committing to New Orleans in the hopes that the Kings would express a greater interest in signing him. But that’s not how restricted free agency works.

The Kings did what they had to by extending the qualifying offer to Evans in order to retain the right to match any offers that he may receive from other teams, and were wise to wait until Evans committed to one before coming up with a figure on their own.

There has been no indication from Sacramento on whether they’ll match, but as free agents continue to be locked in around the league, they may be running low on options. The Kings had their sights on Andre Iguodala, but rescinded the large offer they had out to him once he didn’t immediately indicate that he’d be interested in playing for them.

The Kings may try to sign and trade Evans to the Pelicans, who would seem to have too many guards on the roster with Eric Gordon and Greivis Vazquez under contract, and with a draft day trade for Jrue Holiday still pending. That might be a better way to go, unless the new management in Sacramento believes another head coach and a possibly improved supporting cast in the future will make Evans into a player deserving of that high-dollar contract.

As a Sixers fan, I like this is the Kings don’t match. The core they put together is not a bottom 5 team. But they are not a playoff team, especially not in the west. I see their pick ending up 7-9 if this contract goes though. Good news for the sixers, because the core they put together is a bottom 3 team

Evans will not be going anywhere. They will match that offer gladly. Let’s go Kings!! New management, new arena coming soon, and the buzz in Sac is coming back. See you in the playoffs in a couple years.

I don’t see Gordon having much value. His contract was openly mocked when he signed it, and he has regressed over the last few years. If they can find a team to take Gordon’s contract, they will get virtually nothing back